The Stuttgart Ricebirds put the ball on the ground Friday night and ran away with a 40-0 victory over Southside Batesville at Ned Moseley Stadium.

Stuttgart is now 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Southerners fell to 2-1-1 on the season and 0-1 in 2-4A action.

The sluggish offense that had been seen early on in the Ricebirds’ first three games of the season was nowhere to be found Friday as Stuttgart jumped on the board with its first possession.

A nine-yard rush by Jon Curtis started the Birds off strong, but a bobbled pitch on second and 1 had Stuttgart facing a third and 12 situation from its own 34 yard line.

Dontrell Brown managed to find an open Hunter Harris near midfield for the passing first down.

The Birds’ ground attack had yet another first down just three plays later. Brown couldn’t find any running room on first and 10 from the Southside 37 but a 12-yard pass to Dre’lon Ice tacked on Stuttgart’s third first down of the series. Tyler Luster added a seven-yard carry to put the Birds on the 25, before a Brown rush led Stuttgart to the 4 yard line.

Brown kept the ball again and marched into the end zone to get the Birds on the board first. The PAT by Jackson Kennedy was good and Stuttgart jumped out to a 7-0 lead with 7:36 remaining in the first quarter.

The Stuttgart offense would not get much rest as Southside Batesville threw three incomplete passes before punting.

Taking the ball at the Southside 43, Brown was stopped at the line of scrimmage, before Luster broke a big run that was later negated by a holding penalty on the Birds.

Brown couldn’t find an open receiver on second and 13, but managed to connect with Harris on the next play to give Stuttgart a fresh set of downs.

Three carries by Luster set up Brown’s second rushing touchdown of the night. A successful PAT from Kennedy put Stuttgart up 14-0 with just over four minutes to play in the first quarter.

The Ricebird defense was once again too much for the Southerners as Southside went three and out on its next possession.

Stuttgart, however, could not be slowed.

The Birds needed just three plays before Brown connected with Waymon Johnson for the first passing TD of the night. With 45 seconds left in the first, Stuttgart held a 21-0 advantage.

Another three-and-out by Southside Batesville was followed by the first Stuttgart punt of the night early in the second quarter.

Southside put together a drive on its next possession but couldn’t cross midfield before being forced to punt.

Page 2 of 2 - On the Birds’ next play, Johnson took the handoff 65 yards for Stuttgart’s fourth touchdown. A failed PAT put Stuttgart up 27-0 with 5:28 remaining in the half.

The Southside offense seemed to get rolling again, but eventually turned the ball over on downs at the Stuttgart 38 yard line.

The Birds took advantage of the field position and scored for the fifth time in six attempts.

After opening the series with an incomplete pass, Luster broke a huge run, nearly finding the end zone before being brought down at the Southside 18 yard line.

Another rush by Brown had the Birds facing first and goal from the 5 yard line. Luster couldn’t find the running room on the next play, but Delondre Clinton squeezed by the Southerners defense on third down for the score.

An interesting two-point conversion attempt, which included a backward, over-the-head pass from Brown, was narrowly missed in the end zone and Stuttgart was up 33-0 with 46 seconds to play in the first half.

The Southerners couldn’t put together a drive and were forced to punt.

The Birds ended the first half on a knee and headed to the locker room with the sizable advantage.

Neither team came out swinging in the third quarter.

Southside took the opening kick and began marching down field before Ice picked off a Southerner pass to end the drive.

Southside quickly had the ball back as Stuttgart went three-and-out on the ensuing possession.

Another turnover on downs by Southside had the Ricebird offense back on the field, but a fumble by Luster just four plays later quickly ended Stuttgar’s drive.

Both teams traded possessions but neither could generate any offense, and the third quarter ended with no points from either squad.

The Ricebirds settled down in the fourth, putting its final points on the board to open up the quarter.

Behind the legs of Luster and Brown, the Birds covered the field before Luster’s four-yard touchdown run and Kennedy’s PAT put Stuttgart up 40-0.

With a 35-point lead, the mercy rule was put into effect and the clock ran continuously for the remainder of the game.

Southside Batesville once again turned the ball over on downs following its possession.

Stuttgart took over for the final few seconds of the game.

After a 25 yard rush from Jake Dillingham, the Birds lined up in the victory formation, taking a knee to end the game.

The Ricebirds will be back in action Friday as they travel to conference rival Heber Springs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.